This invention relates to a luggage carrier, and, more particularly, to a luggage carrier which is equipped with a pivoting handle to facilitate storage and carrying of the luggage carrier.
Several types of luggage carriers are shown in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,612,563, 3,998,476, and 4,175,769. Each of these luggage carriers includes a wheel-equipped base portion for supporting luggage, boxes, brief cases, etc., and a handle portion for pulling or pushing the base. The handle is telescoping or otherwise collapsible so that the luggage carrier can be stored or carried in a compact manner.
Telescoping handles require various parts to lock the telescoping portions of the handle, and these parts increase the cost of the luggage carrier because of the cost of the parts and the labor required to assemble the parts.
The invention provides an economical collapsible handle assembly which requires a minimum number of parts and which is rigid yet collapsible. The handle assembly includes a pair of spaced-apart rods which extend upwardly from the base of the luggage carrier, and the upper ends of the rods are reinforced by a pivot rod which extends between the rods. A U-shaped hand portion is pivotally attached to the pivot rod and is pivotable between a use position in which the hand portion extends upwardly from the pivot rod and a storage position in which the hand portion extends downwardly from the pivot rod. The hand portion can be releasably locked in the use position by two pairs of locking tubes which are slidably mounted on the hand portion. One locking tube of each pair is slidable over the upper end of one of the spaced-apart rods to lock the hand portion in its use position. A connecting rod extends between the two pairs of locking tubes to permit the locking tubes to be raised and lowered simultaneously and provides additional reinforcement.